Physical activity lowers future cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk; however, few children and adolescents achieve the recommended minimum amount of daily activity. Accordingly, there is virtue in identifying the efficacy of small volumes of high-intensity exercise for health benefits in children and adolescents for the primary prevention of CVD risk. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide a novel overview of the available literature concerning high-intensity interval-exercise (HIIE) interventions in children and adolescents...

Generalized dietary and lifestyle guidelines have been formulated and published for decades now from a variety of relevant agencies in an attempt to guide people towards healthy choices. As the pandemic rise in metabolic diseases continues to increase, it has become clear that the one-fit-for-all diet approach does not work and that there is a significant variation in inter-individual responses to diet and lifestyle interventions. Recent technological advances have given an unprecedented insight into the sources of this variation, pointing towards our genome and microbiome as potentially and previously under-explored culprits contributing to individually unique dietary responses...

OBJECTIVE: A high salt intake causes hypertension and leads to cardiovascular disease. Therefore, a low salt diet is now recommended to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular disease. However, it is still unknown whether an excessively low salt diet is beneficial or harmful for the heart. METHODS: Wistar Kyoto rats (WKYs) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) received normal salt chow (0.9% salt diet) and excessively low salt chow (0.01% salt diet referred to as saltless diet) for 8 weeks from 8 to 16 weeks of age...

Controlling rumen disorders is critical to ensure successful dairy herd health management. Lactation diets of dairy cows are commonly rich in concentrates and low in physically effective fibre. Feeding of these diets increases the risk of rumen disorders with far-reaching consequences for cattle health, welfare and sustainability of dairy production. The term subacute ruminal acidosis or SARA is often used as a synonym for poor rumen health. Being subclinical, SARA lacks of clear symptoms and is therefore difficult to diagnose and to control in the practice...

Rodent studies demonstrate that supplementing the maternal diet with choline during pregnancy produces life-long cognitive benefits for the offspring. In contrast, the two experimental studies examining cognitive effects of maternal choline supplementation in humans produced inconsistent results, perhaps because of poor participant adherence and/or uncontrolled variation in intake of choline or other nutrients. We examined the effects of maternal choline supplementation during pregnancy on infant cognition, with intake of choline and other nutrients tightly controlled...

Objective: To investigate the gut microbiota differences of obese children compared with the control healthy cohort to result in further understanding of the mechanism of obesity development. Methods: We evaluated the 16S rRNA gene, the enterotypes, and quantity of the gut microbiota among obese children and the control cohort and learned the differences of the gut microbiota during the process of weight reduction in obese children. Results: In the present study, we learned that the gut microbiota composition was significantly different between obese children and the healthy cohort...

Vitamin D research has gained increased attention in recent times due to its roles beyond bone health and calcium homeostasis, such as immunomodulation. In some parts of the brain and on immune cells, vitamin D hydroxylating enzymes and its receptors are located. Epidemiological evidence demonstrates that deficiency of Vitamin D is relevant for disease risk and course in multiple sclerosis (MS) and presumably also in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD)...

Introduction: Although, the effect of Ramadan fasting on the risks for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) has been reported in several studies, the results were inconsistent. In addition, the effect of Ramadan fasting on biochemical parameters in Thai subjects has not been evaluated. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Ramadan fasting on anthropometry, blood pressure, Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG), lipid profiles, and body composition in healthy Thai subjects...

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence and risk factors for abnormal liver enzymes in a large age- and gender stratified population-based sample of apparently healthy individuals with or without alcohol consumption and other health-related risk factors (adiposity, physical inactivity, smoking). METHODS: Data on alcohol use, smoking, diet and physical activity were recorded using structured questionnaires from 13,976 subjects (6513 men, 7463 women, aged 25-74 years) in the national FINRISK studies...

Eating habits have changed dramatically over the years, leading to an imbalance in the ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in favour of n-6 PUFAs, particularly in the Western diet. Meanwhile, the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing worldwide. Recent epidemiological data indicate the potential beneficial effect of n-3 PUFAs in ulcerative colitis (UC) prevention, whereas consumption of a higher ratio of n-6 PUFAs versus n-3 PUFAs has been associated with an increased UC incidence...

The aim of this trial was to study the effects of dietary protein content during the rearing period on the performance of mule ducks, according to age at overfeeding (O). Ducks (n = 612) were divided into four groups differing in the protein content in the diet offered during the starting period (S, 0-20 days; Sl vs. Sh : 150 vs. 175 g/kg crude protein (CP)) and growing-finishing period (GF; 21-67 or 81 days, depending on age at O; GFl vs. GFh : 133 vs. 152 g/kg CP). The relative weight of pectoral muscle was lower when ducks were fed a low protein diet during S (-5%, P < 0...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this Symposium was to develop a consensus based, bulbar assessment protocol for implementation within NEALS clinics. METHODS: A one-day symposium, held in April 2017, was organized into Speech and Swallowing sections to establish summary recommendations for the assessment of bulbar dysfunction within each group. RESULTS: Summary recommendations included speech referrals and AAC evaluations at initial visit, CNS-BFS, maximum sustained phonation, and speaking rate...

Dietary choices drive both health and environmental outcomes. Information on diets come from many sources, with nationally recommended diets (NRDs) by governmental or similar advisory bodies the most authoritative. Little or no attention is placed on the environmental impacts within NRDs. Here we quantify the impact of nation-specific NRDs, compared with an average diet in 37 nations, representing 64% of global population. We focus on greenhouse gases (GHGs), eutrophication, and land use because these have impacts reaching or exceeding planetary boundaries...

BACKGROUND: Kidney stone disease is common in industrialized countries. Recently, it has attracted growing attention, because of its significant association with adverse renal outcomes, including end stage renal disease. Calcium-containing kidney stones are frequent with high recurrence rates. While hypercalciuria is a well-known risk factor, restricted intake of animal protein and sodium, combined with normal dietary calcium, has been shown to be more effective in stone prevention compared with a low-calcium diet...

Pulses, defined as dry-harvested leguminous crops, include several varieties of beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas. There is no consensus around a recommended serving size of pulses within a balanced diet, which prevents the development of transregional strategies that rely on consistent messaging to drive increases in consumption. The purpose of this review is to define and disseminate an appropriate target for a minimum serving size of pulses on any given day that can be used in international or collaborative strategies to promote the consumption of pulses...

A high-fibre diet and one rich in fruit and vegetables have long been associated with lower risk of chronic disease. There are several possible mechanisms underpinning these associations, but one likely important factor is the production of bioactive molecules from plant-based foods by the bacteria in the colon. This links to our growing understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in promoting health. Polyphenolic-rich plant foods have been associated with potential health effects in many studies, but the bioavailability of polyphenol compounds, as eaten, is often very low...

Objective. To assess dietary and lifestyle practices of pharmacy and medical students in California and investigate whether they adhered to behaviors consistent with current dietary and exercise guidelines. Methods. The Block Brief 2000 Food Frequency Questionnaire and a supplemental survey assessing demographics, exercise, and dietary behaviors were administered to students across 10 California pharmacy and medical schools. Results. While the majority of students consumed sodium <2300 mg/day (73%) and dietary cholesterol <300 mg/day (84%), only 50% had a saturated fat intake ≤10% total kcal, 13% met fiber intake goals, 10% consumed ≥8 servings/day of fruit and vegetables, and 41% exercised ≥150 minutes/week...

Intermittent fasting has produced a variety of beneficial health effects in animal models, although high-quality research in humans has been limited. This special report examines current evidences for intermittent fasting in humans, discusses issues that require further examination, and recommends new research that can improve the knowledge base in this emerging research area. While potentially useful for health improvement, intermittent fasting requires further study prior to widespread implementation for health purposes...

PURPOSE: Many cancer survivors experience problems with persisting symptoms such as pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression post-treatment. Self-management interventions are recommended for cancer patients as they can help individuals identify and manage these continuing symptoms. This systematic review examines the type, content and impact of self-management interventions for cancer survivors on health outcomes such as activity participation, self-efficacy, quality of life and symptom management...

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor in the development of atherosclerosis. High blood cholesterol can be the result of increased biosynthesis or reduced elimination of cholesterol in the system. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended for patients suffering from hypercholesterolemia. The plant food flavones apigenin and luteolin have previously been shown to suppress the synthesis of cholesterol in human hepatocytes. The effectiveness of these two flavones in controlling blood cholesterol was examined in a mouse model in the present study...